According to statistics, the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis is about 1% in the United States and 0.32-0.36% in China, which is lower than that of white people in Europe and the United States, and is one of the main causes of labor loss and disability in our population. The number of women is about 2-3 times higher than the number of men, but once men develop the disease, the symptoms are usually more severe. The disease is more common in the middle-aged population, but it is also common in children and adolescents. Rheumatoid arthritis is a cruel disease, and there are many things that can be limited once you have it. As people with the disease get younger and younger, many people are concerned that it will affect the next generation. So, is rheumatoid arthritis hereditary? Rheumatoid arthritis is not a hereditary disease, but its development may be related to genetic factors. The incidence of rheumatoid arthritis in families with rheumatoid arthritis is 2-10 times higher than that of the general population, according to a family tree survey. The rate of rheumatoid factor positivity among close relatives of rheumatoid arthritis patients is also 2-3 times higher than that of the general population. The above may indicate that rheumatoid arthritis has a tendency to run in families. What are the causes of rheumatoid arthritis? (1) bacterial factors: experimental studies have shown that group A streptococci and peptidoglycan (peptidoglycan) may be a continuous stimulant for the development of RA, group A streptococci long-term presence in the body to become a continuous antigen, stimulating the body to produce antibodies, the occurrence of immunopathological damage and disease. The animal model of arthritis created by Mycoplasma resembles human RA, but does not produce rheumatoid factor (RF), which is characteristic of human RA. Bacterial or bacteriophage antigenic material has never been found in the joint fluid and synovial tissue of RA patients, suggesting that bacteria may be involved in the initiation of RA, but direct evidence is lacking. (2) Viral factors: The relationship between RA and viruses, especially EBV, is one of the issues that scholars at home and abroad have paid attention to. Studies have shown that arthritis due to EBV infection differs from RA in that RA patients are more strongly reactive to EBV than normal subjects. Sustained high levels of anti-EB virus-cytosolic antigen antibodies appear in the serum and synovial fluid of RA patients, but so far no antibodies to EBV nuclear or shell antigens have been found in the serum of RA patients. (3) Genetic factors: The incidence of the disease is high in certain families, and in a population survey, human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR4 was found to be associated with RF-positive patients. HLA studies have found that DW4 is associated with the development of RA, and 70% of patients are HLA-DW4 positive, and patients have a susceptibility gene for this point, so genetics may play an important role in the development. (4) Sex hormones: Studies have shown that the ratio of male to female incidence of RA is 1:2 to 4. The disease decreases during pregnancy, and the incidence decreases in women taking birth control pills. Animal models show that LEW/n female rats have a high susceptibility to arthritis and a low incidence in males. After male rats are castrated or treated with β-estradiol, they develop arthritis in the same way as females, indicating that sex hormones play a role in the pathogenesis of RA. What are the foods that may aggravate rheumatoid arthritis? (1) high fat: fat oxidation process in the body, can produce ketone bodies, and too much ketone body, has a strong stimulating effect on the joints, the general patients should not eat more high-fat food, such as milk, fatty meat, etc., frying vegetables, soup should also be less oil. (2) Seafood: Patients should not eat more seafood, such as seaweed, sea cucumber, sea fish, sea shrimp, etc., because it contains uric acid, which is absorbed by the body, can form uric acid salt crystals in the joints, making joint symptoms worse. (3) too acidic, too salty: such as peanuts, white wine, white sugar and chicken, duck, fish, meat, eggs and other acidic food intake, more than the normal pH value of the body, will make the body pH value is high, so that the secretion of lactic acid increased, and consume a certain amount of calcium, magnesium plasma, and aggravate the symptoms.